grind

grind

I

grind¹ /ɡraɪnd/ verb (past tense and past participle ground /ɡraʊnd/)1.  INTO SMALL PIECES  [transitive]
  a. (also grind up) to break something such as corn or coffee beans into small pieces or powder, either in a machine or between two hard surfaces:
    freshly ground pepper
  b. American English to cut food, especially raw meat, into very small pieces by putting it through a machine
   SYN  mince British English:
    ground beef
2.  SMOOTH/SHARP  [transitive] to make something smooth or sharp by rubbing it on a hard surface or by using a machine:
    a stone for grinding knives and scissors
    The lenses are ground to a high standard of precision.
3.  PRESS
  a. [transitive always + adverb/preposition] to press something onto a surface and rub it with a strong twisting movement
    grind something into something
    He dropped a cigar butt and ground it into the carpet with his heel.
    He ground out his cigarette on the window ledge.
  b. [intransitive always + adverb/preposition] to press hard against something
    grind against/together
    as these plates (=large areas of land) grind against each other
4. grind your teeth to rub your upper and lower teeth together, making a noise
5. grind to a halt (also come to a grinding halt)
  a. if a vehicle grinds to a halt, it stops gradually:
    Traffic ground to a halt as it approached the accident site.
  b. if a country, organization, or process grinds to a halt, its activity or the process gradually stops:
    After two days the talks had ground to a halt.
6.  PERFORM A MOVEMENT to perform a special movement in skateboarding or ROLLERBLADING, which involves moving sideways along the edge of something, so that the bar connecting the wheels of the skateboard or Rollerblade presses hard against the edge
⇨ have an axe to grind at axe¹(4)
     

THESAURUS

   ▪ press to push something down or against a surface with your fingers or foot: The doctor gently pressed her stomach. | To move forward, press the accelerator. | I pressed ‘delete’ and started again.
   ▪ squeeze to press something inwards from both sides: It’s one of those balls that make a funny noise when you squeeze it. | Squeeze the lemon and add the juice to the sauce.
   ▪ squash to press something against a surface accidentally and damage it by making it flat: Don’t squash the tomatoes. | He sat on my hat and squashed it.
   ▪ crush to press something very hard so that it breaks into very small pieces, or is very badly damaged: Crush two cloves of garlic. | The front of the car was completely crushed in the crash.
   ▪ mash to press cooked vegetables or fruit until they are soft and smooth: Mash the potatoes while they are warm. | Babies love mashed bananas.
   ▪ grind to press something solid until it becomes a powder, using a machine or tool: the machine that grinds the corn | freshly ground coffee
     
grind somebody ↔ down phrasal verb
  to treat someone in a cruel way for such a long time that they lose all courage and hope
   SYN  oppress:
    I’ve never let male colleagues grind me down.
grind on phrasal verb
  to continue for an unpleasantly long time:
    As the negotiations grind on, time is passing towards the deadline.
grind something ↔ out phrasal verb
  1. to produce information, writing, music etc in such large amounts that it becomes boring
   SYN  churn out:
    Frank just keeps grinding out detective stories.
  2. written to say something in a rough, angry, or emotional way:
    ‘You don’t love him,’ he ground out.

II

grind² noun
1. [singular] something that is hard work and physically or mentally tiring:
    I find the journey to work a real grind.
    workers emerging from their daily grind in the factory
2. [countable] American English informal a student who never does anything except study
   SYN  swot British English
3. [countable] a movement in skateboarding or ROLLERBLADING, which involves moving sideways along the edge of something, so that the bar connecting the wheels of the skateboard or Rollerblade presses hard against the edge